


Storm of the Century

by lar_laughs



Category: Once Upon a Time (2011)
Genre: Community: sgoc, Gen, SGOC Gift Giving
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-12-28
Updated: 2011-12-28
Packaged: 2017-10-28 07:50:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,341
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/305565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lar_laughs/pseuds/lar_laughs
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>David is beginning to feel like this existence isn't real.  He meets a girl from the sea and thinks he's starting to figure it all out when the air ripples and he's back to square one.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Storm of the Century

**Author's Note:**

  * For [everythingshiny](https://archiveofourown.org/users/everythingshiny/gifts).



> Why yes, Storeybrooke IS near a beach. I read somewhere that the writers wanted to bring in the Little Mermaid and it got me thinking. This is where I ended up.

All was not well in Storeybrooke. The weatherman from twelve different counties were converging on the town in response to a forecast of, quite possibly, the largest storm in recorded history. It had just appeared on the radar one day, completely out of the blue. There was no reason for it to sit off the coast of Maine, gaining in strength without moving at all. Weather balloons had been sent in to check what was at the center of the disturbance but they hadn't gotten even remotely close before expanding to the point of explosion. A plane had been dispatched to chart it and made it within a few meters before mysteriously losing power. The crew were found, unharmed, on a beach several miles down the coast. They were no help at all, seeing as all they could do was spout some nonsense about Triton... or trident. It was hard to tell sometime when they jabbered away to any interviewer.

It was decided that the person who was able to figure out what was happening and could find a solution to stop it before it moved any further toward land would become a hero. Everyone, even civilians, wanted to be the one who figured it out and save the day.

David Nolan found himself intrigued by the problem. If anything, it took his mind off the other problems in his life. If he was wondering about wind speeds and weather patterns, he wasn't worrying about the nagging suspicion deep in his gut that told him his marriage truly was a sham. It wasn't so much that he and Katherine fought as they didn't. In fact, they seldom saw each other. Even when they were at home together, she was on the phone with one of her friends or shopping on the internet. David preferred the solitude of his workshop but he seemed pretty inept at woodwork. The tools didn't feel comfortable in his hands and every attempt he made to create something only produced a pile of wood shavings and frayed nerves.

Everyone at the cafe was talking about either the brewing storm or the visiting forecasters. Ruby was in her element, serving up pie and her opinions. While David didn't care much for the pie (he preferred the dense cake dusted with cinnamon that was a specialty of the shop), he did find himself listening to the opinions with an interest he'd never shown before. _Strange_ was a word he heard a lot, but also _beautiful_. Since he'd never been out to see the storm, he decided to head out to the beach. It was time he saw this wall of water for himself.

Surprisingly, he was alone on the rocky beach. This wasn't one of the tourists locations like the smooth sands of the beaches to the south. No, this was all craggy rocks and heavy breakers. He'd expected to see the experts setting up camp here but they seemed to be content to stay near civilization where they could access the free internet (Mr. Gold's idea) and low-priced coffee (Ruby's idea).

It was nice to be alone with just the glittering spray of the water on the horizon, churning and spinning like a distant water park ride. There was a peace here he couldn't find in town, surrounded by people that should have been familiar to him but weren't. Not like they were. He had dreams of the same people in different situations that didn't make any sense. Those dreams felt more real than any part of his new life. This wall of water felt more real than the coffee he'd had at the cafe.

"Do you think he'll do it?"

David jumped, unaware that anyone had appeared on the beach with him. When he turned around, he was surprised to see a young girl dressed for swimming even though the weather wasn't quite warm enough to get in the water. She'd obviously already been in the water because there was seaweed woven through her hair, even though she appeared to be dry.

"Who?"

She didn't appear to have heard him, though. As she stared out at the disturbance, she looked almost... hopeful. Just as he was about to ask his question again, she seemed to remember that he was beside her and that she'd spoken. "It's not important. I should be going."

"Do you need a ride somewhere?" Not that he had a car with him, seeing as Katherine had taken it on one of her daily shopping expeditions, but it felt like the right thing to do. Besides, he wanted to find out exactly what she was talking about even though she didn't appear to want to talk about it. "It's cold out today. Not the kind of weather to be getting into the water."

"Or out of the water."

They both laughed, even though David did it mostly to keep her talking and not because he understood the joke. "You aren't from Storeybrooke, are you?"

"Storeybrooke?" Her look of consternation reminded David of the way he often had felt about things when he'd first woke up from his unconscious state. Like something was slightly off about the question. "Where is that?"

He pointed back towards town. "Right over there. Not much else around here. You're either from Storeybrooke or you're a weather forecaster watching that phenomenon out there."

"Phenomenon." She said the word as if fascinated about the way it sounded rolling around on her tongue. "Why are the forecasters watching the sea?"

"They're actually watching the storm, trying to decide what it's going to do next."

"Next? Most likely, it shall taunt me until I decide what I'm going to do."

David contemplated her for a moment before asking, "What are your options? Maybe I can help you decide."

"It's my father. He wants me to come home."

"Your father? Is he King Triton or something?"

There was a ripple in the air around David, as if the molecules had become disturbed and weren't sure what to do with themselves. A fissure of pain streaked behind his eyes, forcing his eyes closed for the second it took for it to abate. When he opened them again, the girl stood in front of him but she was different. Instead of tangled with seaweed, her hair was bound up in a tidy braid that circled her head. The tiny bathing suit made out of a fish scale pattern had been replaced with a wetsuit, the logo of a large university stitched on the collar.

"King Triton?" She grimaced as if he'd said something incredibly stupid and she was rethinking ever having this conversation. "No, he's the captain of the _Sea Princess_. Listen, I really need to get back to him. Will you be able to pass that message along to the Mayor for me?"

There was a rubber dingy bobbing in the surf that David was convinced wasn't there a moment ago but he wasn't sure any longer. He long lost the train of this conversation, though. With a slow shake of his head to clear it of the sudden buzzing, he smiled at the young woman once again. "I'm sorry. What was the message again?"

"She wanted to know if my father would be able to give a talk about his latest adventure at the town library. He'll be there next Wednesday. Our ship-to-shore communications are down right now. The storm is clearing up soon so she should be able to contact him with the specifics as soon as those clouds clear up."

"Storm?" Sure enough, there was a wall of clouds out on the horizon, a typical storm brewing out over the water. He wondered if it would ever come further toward land. They could do with some rain. He'd noticed, only this morning, that Katherine's flowers could use a good watering. "Oh, sure. I'll pass that along to Mayor Mills. What did you say your name was?"

She held out her hand. "Aria. Aria Benson."

"Nice to meet you, Aria. Welcome to Storeybrooke."


End file.
